Through the Sands of Time
by Miranda Aurelia
Summary: A betrayal sends a battle-weary Connor Queen hurtling through time into the past. Soon, the JL gang discovers that potentially messing up the time-line is the least of his worries. Chlollie.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Through the Sands of Time

Author: Miranda Aurelia

Pairing: Chloe/Oliver

Summary: A betrayal sends a battle-weary Connor Queen hurtling through time into the past. Soon, the JL gang discovers that potentially messing up the timeline is the least of his worries.

**Chapter 1**

"You're going to be okay."

The pre-teen just tightened her grip on his arm, her eyes wide with fright.

Unfortunately at the moment, there was another explosion nearby which highlighted their precarious position. In his arms, Sarah whimpered in fear at the sound, which was not surprising considering they were currently stuck on a ledge with only cold, unyielding rock behind them and a seemingly bottomless descent in front of them.

"Hey! Up here!"

Connor looked up to see the familiar face of Nathan Kent looking over the edge of the cliff.

Seconds later, a rope was thrown over the side. However at the exact same time, Connor could feel the ledge they were standing on beginning to shake.

"Grab on!"

He quickly tied the rope around her waist and tugged. "I got it! Pull her up!"

The ground trembled beneath him and if seemed like forever before the rope fell back down again.

As with before, he quickly tied the rope around himself and tugged. Seconds after his feet left the ledge, the rock finally gave way, falling down and disappearing into the mist.

About three-quarters of the way up, he heard a masculine shout and the rope slackened. Yelling, he soon found himself dangling precariously from the face of the rock, the only thing that was preventing him from making his maker was an exposed root that he somehow managed to grab onto.

"No!" he heard Sarah cry out before her shout was abruptly silenced.

Looking up, his eyes widened at the barrel of the gun pointing down at him. However, his surprise wasn't due so much to the firearm as it was to the person holding it.

"What do you think you're doing?" He yelled at his girlfriend.

She just shrugged, "What does it look like to you?"

"Then what the hell did you do to Nathan and Sarah?"

Dominique just sneered at him, "Kent just had a mild case of Kryptonite poisoning. And don't worry about the girl; we didn't spend all this time planning her rescue only to kill her. No, as it is, you're going to be our only casualty today."

For a second, Connor just stared at her. "What?"

"The council has decided that you've become a liability, _executioner_." She deliberately stressed his title, "I'm just following orders."

With that, she fired and Connor reflexively released his hold onto the root to avoid getting shot. His girlfriend's cold smile was the last thing he saw as he fell towards the mist and unconsciousness overtook him.

Unseen by anyone, his body soon disappeared shimmered and disappeared.

* * *

Oliver knocked the guard out with a well-placed punch.

"More heat signatures heading towards you from the north side," Chloe's voice sounded in his earpiece.

"Cyborg, what's your status?"

"I'm downloading the files-"

"Hey, you there!" Green Arrow looked up and saw another guard closing in towards him. One arrow later and the guard was out like a light.

"Cyborg's down!" Impulse's voice rang out.

"What?"

"I'm on my way," Oliver took off down the hallway towards Bart and Victor's location.

"Aquaman, status."

"I'm almost through," came AC's voice followed by a grunting sound. "Got it!" Seconds later, "What the hell? There's nothing in here!"

Then the unmistakable sound of gunfire could be heard over the comm.

"…It's a trap!" AC yelled.

"Oh my God…" Chloe's voice was barely a whisper before she regained her composure, "Aquaman, turn left and head down the hallway. The stairs are behind the last door on your right side."

"Abort mission. Everyone, rendezvous at point B."

AC tore down the stairs. Near level two, he nearly crashed into the rest of the team as they piled into the stairwell. Victor was barely conscious; he was supported by Impulse and Green Arrow as they hurried down the rest of the stairs. A few levels above them, the sound of angry yelling and pounding feet could be heard.

Finally reaching the hangar, they were rushing towards the doors when Green Arrow hissed in pain as a bullet grazed his shoulder. The team was forced to scramble for cover as a bright green beam of light hit the area where they'd been scant milliseconds ago, leaving a decent sized crater in the floor.

"I guess now we know what happened to the stolen DX-320," muttered AC as they took cover behind some shipping crates as they tried to catch a glimpse of their assailants.

Suddenly all the lights went out.

"I've cut off the lights," Chloe's voice came on, "Everyone, what's your status?"

"Sitting duck."

"Impulse!" Oliver glared at Bart, although the effect was ruined by the dark.

"What, it's true!"

"The emergency generators are starting up," said Chloe, "I'll see what I can do."

"Blow the place up if you have to! I want them dead and out of my hair!" rang out a male voice from direction where the shooter had been. This was followed by the slam of a door.

"This just gets better and better," said Oliver dryly as another blast of green energy roared through the darkness.

* * *

Connor landed with a heavy thud onto the metal walkway. Shaking his head, he slowly pushed himself up and took in his surroundings, a slightly confused look on his face.

At that moment, memories of his last moments immediately came over him, with Dominique's face in the forefront.

_Where am I?_ He thought, _Is this what hell looks like?_

Because never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that hell would look like the inside of a warehouse.

His senses screamed at him and in one smooth motion, he had his knife out, the blade held against the jugular of the man that had tried to sneak up on him.

Connor watched the thug for a second as he debated what his next move should be.

_Okay, let's do this the easy way. _

The hapless thug was frozen as Connor pressed two fingers against the man's forehead. Connor could feel his energy replenishing as he sifted though the man's memories.

_Ah, there it is. _

The warehouse he was in supposedly belonged to a company named Ares Shipping, but was really used for illegal shipments into the country. However, tonight it was being used to trap Green Arrow and his fellow bunch of busybodies-

Connor was so surprised by this information that he almost missed the fact that the man was rapidly paling.

_Shit. _

He quickly pulled his hand away and cut off the connection as the man collapsed facedown onto the walkway.

Checking the man's pulse, Connor was relieved to find that there was still a faint one there. Sometimes, there were moments when his powers were both a gift and a curse.

_"Don't get so close to him. The guy's like an energy leech." _

He closed his eyes as he remembered the whispers amongst the league members that had gone on when they thought he was out of hearing range.

His mother had been blessed, or rather, cursed, with the ability to heal all wounds – even to the extent of bringing people back from the dead. A long time ago, he'd had that ability as well, but after his mother's death, his powers had morphed into deadly ones he had today. It was as if his powers had reversed so that all he could do now was heal himself, but not others.

He barely had time to reconcile the memories he'd gained from the other man when he caught sight of four figures running into the hangar.

_Who the hell does this impostor think he is, masquerading as Green Arrow?_ He thought, silently outraged on behalf of his absent father.

A movement out of the corner of his eye drew his gaze to the three men standing on the platform overlooking the hangar as one of them starting shooting at the four figures below.

_Priorities, mate._ His inner voice told him. _The trigger-happy guys go first. Then you can beat up the impostor. _

Connor's eyes narrowed as he began to make his way towards them.

At that moment, one of the other guys fired with a large gray blaster and there was a resounding BOOM! as green energy shot out towards the figures on the ground.

He stumbled as the lights abruptly went out.

"Blow the place up if you have to! I want them dead and out of my hair!" he could hear one of the men yell out followed by the slam of a door.

It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the dark, but the light shining through a few of the narrow, dusty windows allowed enough vision to continue making his way towards the two thugs.

Then everything happened at the same time.

The lights came back on as a bunch of guards burst into the hangar from the door the Green Arrow and his team had came from. Meanwhile, Connor knocked the thug with the gun unconscious causing the one with the blaster to turn his attention onto this new threat. Meanwhile, seeing this, Green Arrow and his team immediately ran out from their hiding place towards the exit.

Grappling with the thug for the blaster, he managed to knock the weapon out from the other man's grasp. A well-placed kick sent the blaster spinning off the platform onto the ground below and Connor leapt off after it.

Bart must have seen it fall, because seconds later Connor soon found himself staring down the barrel of yet another gun. The only difference was that Impulse didn't seem as trigger-happy as his ex.

"Who are you?" Bart asked, lowering his newly found weapon slightly.

"All doors leading into the hanger have been locked down," Chloe's voice sounded into their earpieces, "I can't really do much about the thugs stuck in there with you though."

"Stay with him," Oliver ordered AC before he pulled out an arrow and started shooting. The odds weren't great, but with the DX-320 out of the hands of the enemy and only about five guards left, he was feeling a lot better than he did a few minutes ago.

Part of him wondered about the mysterious figure that had showed up. All he managed to glimpse with a figure with shaggy brown hair and while Oliver didn't recognize the guy, but whoever he was, it seemed as though he was on their side.

A few minutes later, it was all over.

"Get Cyborg to the van," Green Arrow ordered before he slowly headed over the figure that was silently watching them.

"My team and I really appreciated your help," he said. As he got closer, he found out that the shaggy brown hair he thought he'd saw was really a dark blond. Narrowed green eyes followed his every movement as the bearded stranger finally spoke up.

"Green Arrow, I presume?"

"You presume correctly."

The stranger seemed to be sizing him up before fingers wrapped tightly around the exposed part of his arm.

"Who are you and what have you done with Oliver Queen?" The stranger hissed.

Oliver's eyes widened behind his sunglasses and he tried to yank his arm back. At the same time, he could fell his energy getting drained and he stared at the stranger in shock.

"Hey, what do think you're doing?" Bart's angry voice rang out from behind them before a red blur knocked into the stranger.

Oliver stumbled backwards before he managed to regain his footing.

"What the hell was that for?" he yelled at the mysterious man.

However, the stranger just looked at him in shock. "It really is you," he breathed. Then Connor collapsed.

Impulse just looked at Green Arrow.

"Let's go now." He pointed at Connor's prone figure, "And he's coming with us."

**To be continued.**


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Through the Sands of Time

Author: Miranda Aurelia

Pairing: Chloe/Oliver

Summary: A betrayal sends a battle-weary Connor Queen hurtling through time into the past. Soon, the gang discovers that potentially messing up the timeline is the least of his worries.

**Chapter 2**

_Blurred images of his mom and dad floated through his mind. He dimly registered his dad gesturing as he talked with his mom before the former left. Connor wanted to talk to his mom, but all he managed was a mumbled 'don't leave'. His mother seemed a bit startled by this, but she still carefully threw a blanket over him before leaving the room. _

Connor slowly opened his eyes as he came to. Sitting up on the bed, he noted absentmindedly that most of his wounds had healed already.

The digital clock beside his bed gave the time to be 8:42 AM. As he looked around the room, he observed that there was really nothing there that would give him a clue as to his location.

There were two doors and he soon found out that one led to an ensuite while the other, most likely the exit, was locked. He wasn't surprised. There wasn't a single window.

In the bathroom, he caught sight of his appearance in the mirror and was a bit surprised at how scruffy his appearance was. He needed a haircut and shave badly - although probably not the best idea as his resemblance to one blond billionaire would certainly bring up a whole can of worms he wasn't interested in opening yet.

Connor surreptitiously checked for his weapons. His knife was gone, as was the gun he'd had on his belt – although he'd probably lost the latter after falling from the cliff.

Tapping his boots, he was relieved to see that the carefully concealed thin blades were still present.

The last thing he remembered was Impulse knocking him away from Green Arrow as his mind tried frantically to process all the information he had gained from the leather-clad archer.

He rubbed his hands over his face. If the images he'd seen were correct, he'd just traveled into the past.

Ironically, the how was easier to answer than the why.

He must have accidentally absorbed some of Sarah's powers during the rescue mission. The reason why her rescue had been so vital in the first place had been because of her abilties, which allowed her to time-travel at will.

That wasn't to say that she'd been able to control it yet, but at this point, that was the only explanation he could come up with.

His mentor would have grunted and shelved the matter into the magical bullshit folder. After all, his Uncle Bruce had never been that fond of anything that couldn't be explained with cold, hard facts.

He looked around. As it was, it seemed that he was a prisoner and while it was possible that he'd been captured by the thugs that had ran the warehouse, it didn't seem likely. Connor figured he probably would have woken up in a dankly cell somewhere if that had been the case.

No, it was more like the JL gang had taken him with them and they were now trying to decide what to do with him.

It was either that or the Council was playing sick mind games with him. He didn't want to contemplate what he would do if he found out it was the latter, but suffice to say, heads would roll.

Connor leaned back on the bed and settled in for a long wait.

* * *

Chloe had only napped for a few hours, her mind working overtime to figure out how it was that the team could have walked into a trap. She'd been worried about Oliver – normally he'd be beating himself up over situations like this.

However, today it seemed as though finding out the identity of the stranger had taken over his thoughts for the moment.

"You're positive he knew who you were?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"Sure seemed like it," muttered Oliver, running a hand through his hair as he paced back and forth behind her. "His exact words were _'What have you done with Oliver Queen?'_ Then he grabbed my arm and the next thing you know, I can feel myself weakening like I was getting drained or something!"

"So he didn't recognize you."

"I think he may-" He stopped abruptly and looked over her shoulder, "Did you check the database of known metahumans?"

"You mean, is he a 'meteor freak'?" Chloe said dryly, "And yes, I checked already. There's nobody listed on there that has the abilities you saw. It would help if I had a name to work with though-"

A movement in one of the monitors caught her eye. "Hey, he's awake."

After a few seconds, Oliver raised an eyebrow. "He seems awfully calm for someone that's just woken up in a strange environment."

At that moment, the man in the image looked straight at them.

"…Or maybe he knows that we're watching him," concluded Chloe, "So when are you going to interrogate him?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe I should just let him stew in there for a while longer."

The blond-haired woman just rolled her eyes at that. "As if you're not impatient to find out how he figured out your identity… That and I really need more information to go on. Just typing in 'shaggy blond hair' doesn't help me narrow down the search."

"Fine, I'll go then."

"Oh and I'm coming with you."

"What?" Oliver stopped and turned around, "Why?"

"I-There's some questions I want to ask him."

"You usually don't tag along for those."

_Well, you see, I have no idea why but I feel like I know him from somewhere. So m__aybe if I can talk with him, I can figure out where I last saw him_... However, Chloe chose to keep that thought to herself.

"There's no rule against me starting now. Besides, he did help you guys out last night."

"Fair enough, but dressed like that you're not."

Chloe looked down at her t-shirt and jeans. "What's wrong with this?"

"Secret identity, remember?'

She scowled at him, "I knew that."

* * *

It didn't take Connor long to locate the surveillance device. Not surprising, considering the environment he'd grown up in.

It's also why he was barely reacted when the door leading to the outside finally opened some time later. Green Arrow and a smaller figure stepped in and shut the door.

_Was that Impulse?_ Connor thought rather irrelevantly. The unknown figure was certainly too short to be Aquaman. Whoever they were, their face was concealed by the hood of their sweatshirt and a pair of sunglasses.

"How are you feeling?" Green Arrow asked.

"I've felt better," Connor threw his legs over the side of the bed, "I'm guessing this is not a social call."

"You'll have to excuse us, considering where we ran into you."

"You could have left me behind," Connor had a niggling feeling he knew where this conversation was going.

"It's more about happened before you blacked out."

Connor thought back, "I think I know what you mean. Sorry about that," He sounded genuinely regretful, "It was just reflex."

However, Chloe noted that his eyes were watchful and while his pose seemed relaxed, she had a feeling that he could probably spring into action at any moment if needed.

"Can you tell me more about this ability you have?"

Connor shrugged, "People call me an energy leech. That's pretty much sums it up."

Neither Oliver nor Chloe could miss the bitterness in his voice.

"And what happens afterwards?" Chloe finally spoke up.

Connor's head jerked up at the sound of her voice.

"Chloe Sullivan," he said slowly before he looked up, "This is not funny!" He yelled at the ceiling.

Ignoring Oliver's warning glance, Chloe threw back her hood and took a step forward, "Do I know you?"

An ironic smile crossed his face at that question. "You could say that."

Meanwhile, the expression Oliver was directing at Connor was eerily similar to the ones he directed at a target before he decided whether or not to shoot.

Seeing that, the absurdity of the situation struck Connor and he couldn't help but start laughing. _His parents were alive, they didn't recognize him and apparently, his father thought he was out to get them. _

Oliver and Chloe weren't too sure what to make of this reaction, although Green Arrow quickly moved to shield his partner.

However, he soon lost his patience when Connor just started shaking his head as though he were privy to some hilarious inside joke.

"Alright, that's it!" Oliver growled and he grabbed the front of the younger man's shirt, "Who the hell are you?"

Undeterred by Oliver's angry grip on his shirt, Connor just gave him a cynical smile, "Would you believe I'm from the future, Mr. Queen?"

* * *

_Meanwhile, sometime in the future…_

"The matter has been taken care of," The Head Councilman drummed his fingers against the desk.

"I'll set things in motion on my end," came the voice from the speaker.

"And the amount we agreed on?"

"Will be transferred as soon as the paperwork is done. I'll be putting pressure on the board to make a decision promptly-"

Suddenly, he could hear the raised voice of his secretary coming through the door. "Mr. Kent! You can't go in there! Councilman Akan gave strict instructions-"

"Do I look like I care?!" An angry male voice could be heard.

"I'll talk with you later," Akan told the person on the other end before he ended the call.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Nathan stormed into the office. The secretary looked extremely harried and Akan gave her a nod, indicating that he had the matter in hand.

"They told me you'd react this way," he told Nathan.

"How the hell am I supposed to react after getting poisoned just so you could murder my best friend?!"

"Connor Queen was becoming a liability. He was getting more and more mentally unstable and his erratic actions could have compromised our missions."

"Then just kick him out!" Nathan slammed his hands onto the councilman's desk, "You didn't have to kill him!"

"He knew too much. Letting him live would have been a security risk."

Nathan just gave a snort of disgust. "You make me sick."

"Careful, Kent. You're trending dangerously close to insubordination here."

"What? You're going to kill me too?"

"You don't want to push me."

Nathan didn't reply, instead he just stormed out and slammed the door behind him.

Inside the office, Akan pressed a button.

"Shadowhawk here."

"Keep an eye on Kent. The boy's going to be up to something."

"Yes, sir."

**To be continued.**


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Through the Sands of Time  
Author: Miranda Aurelia  
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver  
Summary: A betrayal sends a battle-weary Connor Queen hurtling through time into the past. Soon, the JL gang discovers that potentially messing up the timeline is the least of his worries.

A/N: So it seems that I have hit semi-writer's block. This is what happens when I don't pre-write at least two chapters in advance before posting.... However, the story has been more or less planned out, so I'm hoping I can get one or two more chapters written up before midterm season starts in mid-February.

**Chapter 3**

"Connor Jones," Chloe mulled over it, "Somehow, I don't think that sounds right."

"What about the rest of his story? Do you think it checks out?" Oliver asked, watching the flashing numbers of the elevator as the two of them headed back upstairs.

* * *

After the bombshell the no-longer unnamed stranger had dropped, Oliver had just shook Connor again. "Is that's the best you can come up with? Sing me a new one."

To his surprise, Connor managed to break out of his hold and before he knew it, the other man was half way across the room. "It's true."

"Alright." Oliver crossed his arms, "Prove it."

"You got to be kidding me…" Connor muttered before he shot Oliver a sardonic look. "You know that I can't. Guess you'll just have to take my word for it."

"Oliver!" Chloe interrupted when she saw Green Arrow ready to fire off another retort. They weren't going to get anywhere at this rate. She turned to Connor, "Can you at least tell us how you got here?"

_He'd been on a mission for the new Justice League. In the future, the League had expanded and as with any expansion, it had become entangled with numerous levels of bureaucratic red tape and political maneuvering as the leaders were replaced by a Council. Many of the original Justice League members had since retired or resigned, unsatisfied with the way things were being run. However, a few of them still stuck around, hoping to bring about change any way they could._

"On the last mission, we were supposed to break into this abandoned army base. Somehow things went to hell while we were leaving and before I knew it, I was hanging off the side of a cliff. Then my girlfriend started shooting at me. She said that she was under orders from Council. Apparently I was becoming a liability. I fell and-" Connor shrugged, "when I came to, I was watching Arrow and company getting their ass handed to them."

"Hey!"

When Oliver took a menacing step forward, Chloe placed a hand on his arm. "Calm down." Then she glared at Connor, "You, don't rill him up."

The bearded man tilted his head in acknowledgment.

"That doesn't explain the time-traveling though."

"It's not like I know myself. I was actually pretty shocked to find out that I was still alive."

* * *

"I think he's mostly telling the truth," Chloe said, "Even if there may be huge parts he's leaving out."

"Part of him rubs me the wrong way though," groused Oliver as they stepped off the elevator,

"Judging from what I heard, he appeared as soon as the lights came back on. You got to admit his timing was pretty good."

"Exactly," Oliver said as he fell into step beside Chloe after they stepped off the elevator, "Don't you think it was a bit _too_ good? I don't believe in coincidences like this."

"You think he's a spy?" She looked thoughtful as she grabbed her mug for a refill.

"We were led into a trap," Oliver reminded her, "I wouldn't put it past them to have a back-up plan."

"His abilities were certainly real enough," Chloe poured some coffee, "And it doesn't explain how he figured out who we were. If he were a spy, wouldn't his employers have already made use of that information?"

"I'm Oliver Queen," he said matter-of-factly, "You don't go around accusing me of dressing up as a vigilante if you don't want a defamation lawsuit slapped on your head."

"There are other ways of using that information besides going the press. What I don't get is why you're so sure that he's the bad guy."

Oliver blinked. "What?"

"You met Mia, Bart and Dinah in a similar way," she reminded him, "Dinah was even working for Lex when we first met her."

"It's not like I asked her to join the JL right after I met her," Oliver looked at her, "What are you trying to get at?"

"I'm saying that Connor could be an asset for team if it turns out that he was just in the wrong place at the right time," Chloe took a sip of her coffee, "If he's telling the truth, he's already had a few years of experience working with the League. It'll be a shame to let that go to waste."

"You forgot the part where they tried to kill him. Maybe there's a something important he's not telling us."

"If it helps, it'll give you a good reason to be keeping tabs on him."

Oliver just sighed. "Fine. I'll think about it."

* * *

"The figurine you're getting fingerprints all over is a priceless antique," To his credit, the dark-haired man known as Mr. Hyde didn't bat an eyelash as he walked into his office to find four Mafia members in his office and the leader sitting in his chair. "And get your dirty feet off my desk."

"I'm doing the talking here, Hyde," The head thug, Zannizzo, pointed a finger at other man, "Starting with the compensation for the men and supplies I lost."

His second-in-command, Paolo, stood off to the side, while the two other thugs Zannizzo had brought with him were slouched against the wall, but Mr. Hyde ignored them as he focused on the mid-level gangster sitting in his chair.

"I don't think so. I just gave you one simple order – and you even managed to fuck that up," Hyde did not sound impressed. "Sheer incompetency. Not only have you tipped off the Green Arrow that we're out to get him, but you even manage to lose the DX-320!"

The gangster bristled, "The green bastard has a back-up, which you conveniently forgot to tell us about! My men were ambushed by this freak that appeared out of nowhere! He almost killed one of my men!"

"Save the sob story for someone that cares," Hyde folded his arms, "In fact, I've decided it's probably best to end this business relationship.

"I'm not leaving until I get my money!"

"People in hell want ice water," he shot back, "That doesn't mean they're going to get it. Now get out of my office."

"I don't think so," Zannizzo aimed his gun at Hyde and his associates followed suit. Meanwhile, a barely perceptible nod passed from Paolo to Hyde before all hell broke loose.

There was a muffled bang and Zannizzo fell backwards, his eyes wide open in shock and a hole in his forehead. At that point, a dark shape had slipped out from seemingly nowhere and one thug soon crumpled to the ground, a knife sticking out of his chest. Another muffled bang later and the remaining thug fell forward, two steps from his original position against the wall.

"I trust that you'll keep your end of the bargain," Mr. Hyde told Paolo as the mysterious assassin stood silently beside him. "It would be mighty inconvenient if certain pieces of information were to be leaked back to those higher up in the hierarchy."

Paolo's eyes shifted to the bodies on the floor of the office, "It'll be done."

"It had better be," Mr. Hyde said darkly. He watched from the window as Paolo got into his car and drove off before turning back to the man beside him.

"Make it look like an accident. I don't like loose ends."

The other man nodded before heading off.

Hyde looked distastefully at the three bodies in his office before calling in the clean-up crew.

He had no wish to involve himself with the backstabbing in the mafia. Instead, in a week's time, evidence would arise pointing to Paolo's betrayal. By that time, it would be too late – even if the other members did manage to find him later on, he would already have met an unfortunate end in an accident. Most importantly, there would be nothing whatsoever linking any of their deaths to him.

As for his on-going feud with Green Arrow and company...he had high hopes for his newest employee.

* * *

"I am going to get throttled," was the only thought running through Nathan's mind as he rang the bell. The fact that he was invulnerable was not that reassuring considering the man he was going to be facing.

"Nathan!" A familiar voice called out and he was enveloped in a hug by a dark-haired young woman, "What brings you here today?" Alana Wayne smiled and looked around him, "And where's Connor?"

"Yeah, about that…." Nathan winced inwardly. This wasn't going to go well. "Is your dad around?"

* * *

"They killed Connor."

Bruce was silent, but there was loud gasp behind him. Nathan whirled around and he barely caught a glimpse of Alana's devastated expression before she fled from the doorway of the study.

"Who gave the orders?"

"Council did. Dominique was the one that pulled the trigger."

"The redhead?"

"His girlfriend."

"Leave me," It was no longer Bruce speaking, but Batman.

Nathan beat a hasty retreat only to run into Selina.

"What's going on, Nathan? Why is my daughter sobbing as though someone just broke her heart?"

"It's Connor," Nathan rubbed a hand over his face, "The bastards on Council….they gave the orders and Dominique….she killed him. I watched as she killed my best friend-" His voice broke.

The Waynes had been like a second family to Connor during his childhood and Nathan felt like a heel for having to bring them the news.

Shock passed through Selina's eyes, which then morphed rapidly into a mixture of grief and anger.

"Connor…" she said softly before she looked at Nathan, "I'm going to kill them!" she vowed, "Starting with that bitch."

"I'll help," he said grimly. Any loyalty Nathan might have had to the new League had disappeared the moment Dominique pulled the trigger. He knew his father would have disapproved of his attitude, but at the moment, he couldn't find it in him to care.

**To be continued.**


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Through the Sands of Time  
Author: Miranda Aurelia  
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver  
Summary: A betrayal sends a battle-weary Connor Queen hurtling through time into the past. Soon, the JL gang discovers that potentially messing up the timeline is the least of his worries.

Chapter 4

The newspaper crinkled as Connor flipped idly through the pages. He figured he'd give his parents another day to make up their minds before he broke his way out of there – and there was no doubt he was capable of that.

He'd been a bit overwhelmed at first, but then the possibilities of all the events he could change had hit him and it made him all the more impatient to get out of there, with or without JL consent.

There were so many things he needed to do.

Of course, it would be way easier if he had the resources of Queen Industries and the Watchtower behind him, but he wasn't counting on it. No, as it was, his first priority was getting his hands on a laptop and an internet connection. And then access into his father's weapons stash.

The slight movement of the door caught his eye and he was surprised to see a plain-clothed Oliver walking in.

"So how long are you guys planning on keeping me in here for?"

"Actually, you're free to go."

"Just like that?" Incredulity laced his voice.

"You'll have to excuse us for being a bit cautious. It's not everyday someone turns up with full knowledge of all our civilian identities."

"I suppose." That's when an important point occurred to him, "And where exactly am I supposed to go? It's not like I know when or even if I can get back to my own time."

"Watchtower has all the basics covered and we're still trying to figure out how you ended up here," Oliver said, "Follow me."

* * *

_250 Fairmont Street__._ Connor recognized the familiar décor as they exited the corridor where his room had been and the elevators came into sight. In his time, the 15 story building also doubled unofficially as JL Tower, a base of operations for the League. His mother's workspace made up the entire top floor.

He had been a bit surprised to see Oliver walking without the slight limp that had hampered him in Connor's time. Ever since he'd been aware of it, his father had always tended to favour his left leg. Now if he just could remember when it had happened so he could prevent it.

"How would you like a job with the Justice League?" Oliver said suddenly as the doors to the elevator opened.

Connor almost stumbled. "Are you serious?"

His father shrugged and motioned for him to enter the elevator, "If what you say is true, you obviously have the skills for it. That and we could always use some more help."

"Well…."

"Hey," Oliver finally gave him a slight smile, "Take your time. I'm just saying, there's an opening on the team if you want to join."

"I'll think about it."

* * *

"I'll try to make this as believable as possible," Chloe was telling him as her fingers flew across the keyboard, "The best identity is one that you're not making up from scratch."

"Got it," Connor was struck by a mixture of surrealism and déjà vu as he watched his mother work her magic on the computers. As a kid, he'd spent many hours in this exact area as Chloe coordinated numerous JL missions. However, it was just so strange, watching this younger version of his mother at work.

"Education background?"

When there was no rely, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Connor?"

It was then that Connor realized he was staring and Chloe was patiently waiting for an answer. "Columbia, business administration. Magna cum laude."

Meanwhile, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that his father was glaring at him from behind his back. For what, he had no idea.

"And what did you work as?"

Connor thought _I ran a billion-dollar company called Queen Industries, _probably wouldn't have been the best reply, so he simply said, "Lower-level management, but I did some programming on the side."

"Oh," Chloe continued typing, "Where did you work?"

"I don't think the company's been founded yet," he lied.

"Okay, I guess we'll just put you down as a Queen Industries employee then."

A strangled sound escaped from Connor's throat before he could stop it.

Chloe just gave him a questioning glance.

"Sorry, had something in my throat," he mumbled. Sometimes he had the scary feeling his mother could read minds.

"Hey, I'm going out to get some lunch," Oliver placed a hand on Chloe's upper arm, "Anything you want?"

"Surprise me."

"Sure. How about you, kid?"

Connor noticed that his father's hand lingered on his mother's arm longer than was necessary. Oliver's tone was casual, but there was a hint of steel underlying his tone.

Connor knew his father well enough to recognize the unspoken message.

"Whatever you're getting is fine," he said and because he valued his life, took a step back, away from his mother.

* * *

A few hours later, Connor was standing in the center of his new apartment. Eighth floor, Queen Plaza. The windows provided a stunning view of the south side of Star City, with the tall building making up Queen Industries Headquarters visible near the upper left corner. JL Towers was only a block away.

First things first.

Taking a seat at the table, he booted up his new laptop while marveling at how anybody in this time period ever got anything done. If there was one thing he really missed about the future, it was the technology.

Beside him, a stack of folders and loose-leaf held all the paperwork and information he needed in this time.

Meanwhile, unknown to him, the information he was accessing flashed across one of the computer screens at the Watchtower.

"Bob Stonely," Oliver read off the screen before turning to Chloe, "What's this?"

"This is what Connor is accessing on his laptop at the moment."

Oliver just stared at her for a second before he shook his head, "So how many of the 1028 unread emails in my inbox this morning were actually important?"

"…I'm not your secretary. And despite what you think, I don't make it a habit of reading your messages. It was just that one time."

"Because you saw those messages from Dinah, right?"

Chloe just rolled her eyes.

"It would probably be a lot convenient if you were," He said casually, sitting down at the edge of her desk.

"Why, what's wrong with the secretary you have now?" She smacked him lightly with the small stack of printouts she had in her hand, "And butt off my desk."

"It was just a thought," he said.

"Right. Anyways, Bob Stonely," Chloe tapped a few more keys, "According to this, he has a pretty long record. Multiple counts of auto theft, a few assault charges-"

"Don't they all," muttered Oliver.

"-and a gambling problem. Really not that much different that your usual run of the mill criminal."

"So no special abilities, no connections to anyone noteworthy…?"

"Not that I can see."

"Here's an address, although I don't think you'll need it yet."

"It doesn't seem like he's been up to much lately," Oliver read from the screen, "So maybe we'll leave this for later."

"You were the one that wanted to keep tabs on Connor," Chloe reminded him, "This really isn't any of our business."

"I still think he's hiding something. Something big."

"Can you blame him? It's probably because he's afraid that if he tells us too much, he'll end up getting unborn or something."

* * *

"Good night, dear."

"Good night," Sarah gave her mother a smile before shutting the door behind her. Her smile disappeared as she sat down on the floor of her darkened room.

_Concentrate_, she told herself before closing her eyes. When she opened again, hundreds of thin golden threads covered the space around her. The threads made up the many different, constantly evolving timelines that her powers gave her the privilege of witnessing.

Slowly leaning forward, Sarah could see that one of the threads had unwoven – and that was the cause of the disturbance.

One of the timelines had become unstable.

She'd probably been too traumatized the day of her rescue to notice it at first.

After she recovered consciousness that day, she'd been kept in the hospital for observation before being reluctantly allowed to return home with her parents.

The Justice League had been very unwilling to let her out of sight, but any trust she'd had for the organization had taken a serious hit the second she'd seen Nathan Kent hit the ground in agony. Then the red-haired woman had knocked her out when she saw the gun she was aiming towards her rescuer.

Asking around, she'd found out that one of Connor's powers had been the ability to take on other superhero's abilities. Judging from the frayed thread, perhaps it was possible that he hadn't perished after all and hope rose in her at the thought. She'd wanted to be saved, but not at the expense of someone else's life.

* * *

Her movements felt almost mechanical as she said hello to the many guests at the function. Alana hadn't wanted to go, but as the Wayne Foundation was one of the sponsors, it was expected that at least one member of the Wayne family would be making an appearance.

Normally she'd enjoy these social affairs, but only days after receiving the news of Connor's death, her heart just wasn't in it. She glanced at the clock – another half hour and then she'd be able to leave.

Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared on the edge of her vision and her fingers tightened unconsciously around the stem of her glass.

A red haze appeared in her vision and then it was as though someone had taken over her body, reducing her role to that of a distant observer. She didn't notice the hush that had fallen over part of the crowd as she made her way over and tapped the other woman on the shoulder.

As Dominique turned around, Alana just smiled sweetly at her before she punched the red-head in the nose.

**To be continued.**

* * *

A/N: I'm hoping the plot isn't getting too convoluted and/or too slow. I noticed a drastic drop in readers after chapter 3, so if that's the problem, please let me know and I'll see if I can fix it.

Also, I would love some suggestions about where you want this plot to go. I can always use more ideas!

Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Through the Sands of Time

Author: Miranda Aurelia

Pairing: Chloe/Oliver  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: A betrayal sends a battle-weary Connor Queen hurtling through time into the past. Soon, the JL gang discovers that potentially messing up the timeline is the least of his worries.

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone that took the time to leave a comment! I've added some "future" and "past" indicators, so hopefully things will be less confusing.

That and I'm actually a bit amused that some people confessed to zoning out during the future non-Connor-related bits, but I just want to say that these "separate" storylines _will_ be merging soon.

**Chapter 5**

_About 22 years into the future…_

"Not _quite_ the way I would have handled it, although I appreciate the sentiment," was the first thing Nathan said once she took a seat at the table across from him.

"What? You don't like my sexy war wounds?" The bruise on Alana's left cheek provided a sharp contrast to her pale skin.

"I thought Jay was pulling my leg when he told me about it. It just seemed so out of character for you."

"Yeah, well," Alana tugged a lock of her hair behind her ear, "She called my dress tacky." When Nathan raised an eyebrow in disbelief, she huffed, "That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

"Is that the best you could come up with?" The corner of Nathan's mouth twitched.

"Don't worry, Mom already gave me a long lecture on subtlety and how I should employ it sometime." Alana drummed her fingers impatiently on the table, "So who are we meeting? I need to swing by Aunt Barbara's place later to pick-up some material for Dad."

"Remember the last mission I was on?"

The pained look that came into Alana's eyes was enough to indicate that she did.

"We were rescuing a kidnapped girl that had time-manipulating abilities." Nathan paused for a second, "I got a call from her about two days ago. She said that she had information about Connor."

"What use is that?" A scowl appeared on Alana's face as she turned away from him, "You already said that Connor fell off the cliff-" she broke off.

"I think Connor's still alive," interjected a soft voice.

"Alana, this is Sarah," Nathan said as he pulled out a chair for the teen.

Coming up behind her was a man Alana recognized from one of Connor's photos. He'd been part of Connor's unit, along with Dominique and Nathan. "Jay, why are you here?"

"Council didn't want to risk Sarah getting kidnapped again, so I'm just tagging along," the dark-haired man explained.

"You said you had some information about Connor?" Nathan gently prompted the teen in question.

However, he sensed that Sarah seemed unsure about speaking with Jay and Alana there, so he tried to reassure her. "Alana and Jay were close friends of Connor's too. Whatever information you give me will be safe with them."

"Okay," Sarah took a deep breath and then she launched into her story.

"So, you're saying that Connor is stuck in the past?" Alana finally said when Sarah finished.

"I think so," Sarah frowned, "It's the only explanation I could think of that would cause the threads to fray like that."

"If that turns out to be true," Jay finally spoke up, "We should keep it under wraps. Just in case." He'd already heard from Nathan about Dominique's betrayal.

"Agreed," Nathan said firmly, "I don't trust Council not to find a way to keep him there permanently."

"Can you get us there? Where Connor is?" Alana asked suddenly.

Sarah bit her lip, "I don't think I have enough power to transport anyone else through time. I've never tried it before."

"Oh," the dark-haired girl visibly deflated, "So we're back to square one since we don't have Connor's special abilities."

"No," Nathan said slowly, "I think I might have an idea."

* * *

Selina found her husband in the Batcave.

Descending the stairs, she headed straight towards the glow of the computers. Numbers, words, sentence fragments and other bits of data flashed across the multiple screens; in front of them, Bruce sat there, his face drawn up in a frown.

"Connor visited me a few weeks ago," Bruce finally spoke up, "He'd been going through the records at his company when he noticed some discrepancies. The two of us and Oracle did some more digging and it turns out that the embezzling has been going on for over twenty-something years. Even that took us quite a bit of time to find out about. Whoever it was covered their tracks well."

Selina stirred, "And you think that Connor's murder is related to this?"

"No, I _know_ that it's related. Just this morning Lucius was telling me about a dispute amongst the board of directors at QI. There's been talk about an election of a new CEO to replace Connor…"

* * *

"No, some of the board members are trying to delay things by holding onto the claim that a body hasn't been found yet. One of the old geezers said that it wasn't the first time that one of the Queen men has been presumed dead and then turned up alive and kicking a couple of weeks later…" The businessman tapped his fingers against his desk. Beside his coffee, a copy of the Daily Planet was seen, its headlines shouting out news of Connor Queen's disappearance in a manner eerily reminiscent of Oliver Queen's rumored death many years ago.

* * *

_Meanwhile, in the present…_

"I'm assuming you know the rest of the team," Oliver started. "Everyone, this is Connor. He's going to be joining us, at least for a while."

It all felt a bit surreal to Connor, seeing these younger versions of his extended family. Heck, his Uncle Bart was almost the same age as he was in this time!

"Are they together?" Connor asked Bart, his gaze focused on his parents. Somehow he found it a bit comforting that they interacted so naturally around each other even in this time period before they had officially gotten together.

It was the subtle things, such as way they seemed to be able to hold entire conversations with their eyes alone, the brush of his fingers against her arm, the way his father leaned in to talk to his mother when she was typing on the computer.

"Why? You interested in Chloelicious?" Bart lowered his voice conspiratorially, "That probably isn't the best idea. Bossman gets really possessive over his Watchtower."

"Does he?"

Bart nodded, "There's actually a pool going on about when they're going to give in and jump each other. Too bad they're both deep in denial."

"Wait…didn't you have a crush on Chloe?"

"Unrequited love is what powers the greatest stories of all time," Bart sighed dramatically, "Don't see why this should be an exception."

Connor rolled his eyes, "You're so funny, Unc- uh, Bart."

Luckily Bart didn't catch his verbal stumble.

* * *

Later on that evening, Oliver found himself trailing the newest League member across the rooftops of Star City.

_Is that a crossbow he has on his back?_ Oliver wasn't sure how he felt about another League member (temporary or not) using his weapon of choice.

Connor didn't seem to be aware of his presence as the younger man leapt nimbly across the air in the direction of the slums. It was probably just as well that he wasn't privy to Connor's thoughts or he would have been alarmed at the murderous turn they'd taken.

The younger man had paused on the roof of the building opposite Stonely's apartment for a good ten minutes before Connor finally shot a line and swung over onto the roof of Stonely's building before he disappeared.

_It would be so easy to end his sorry life_, Connor thought with a disgusted curl of his lip as he surveyed Stonely's living quarters.

A heavy stench of alcohol filled the air and it wasn't any surprise that the man sprawled out of the bed barely stirred while Connor debated his next move.

_Especially since I missed my chance the last time_, he thought to himself darkly. As much as he wanted to make sure Chloe Queen's future killer was no longer a threat, inwardly, he knew that Stonely was only a small part of the big picture. After he finally tracked the killer down nearly a decade after his mother's death, he found out that Stonely had been paid handsomely for the deed – and that Chloe hadn't even been the main target. _You were the main target._ _She'd just gotten in the way_, as the man had put it before Connor decked him.

_"Who paid you? Answer me!" Connor had grabbed the other man by the scruff of this shift and shook him roughly. _

_The man was undeterred, "He'll kill me if I tell you."_

_Connor shook him again, "I'll kill you if you don't tell me! And I'll make it painful," he vowed._

_"You hero types don't kill," Stonely sneered, "Doesn't it go against your code of ethics?"_

_"Then I guess you didn't hear about Black and Devons." _

_Stonely tried to speak but then a blue tinge started to spread across his face. Connor dropped him and the other man fell onto the floor, dead._

_"He must have been injected with Blue Aphonal," Bruce had told him when he told his mentor what had happened. "It came onto the black market about seven years ago. It's used mainly by criminal groups to prevent their members from snitching." _

Connor had to settle with planting the trackers he's swiped from JL Towers in Stonely's possessions. Finding the identity of Stonely's employer was more important in the grand scheme of things.

As he made his way outside, he instinctively scanned the rooftops. A flash of movement caught his eye and he quickly retreated into the shadows before stealthily making his way down a few blocks on foot before he made his way back onto the rooftops.

_Dad! Was he following me? _ Connor thought as he caught sight of Green Arrow a few buildings to the west some time later. _And why am I not surprised?_

It has been almost a week since he'd landed in this time. One afternoon, he'd taken advantage of the fact that his parents had gone out for lunch (or rather, Oliver had cajoled Chloe into a lunch 'date') to make use of Watchtower's computers. The numerous security measures would have been sufficient to keep out anyone but him. Well, that and having a good idea of the passwords Chloe would have used helped too.

It didn't faze him when he found out that his mother kept track of all the information he had accessed on his laptop. Although he was strongly tempted to download all the hard-core porn he could find just to see her reaction.

That idea was struck out after he thought about it and figured that while _his mother_ would be freaked out (and maybe highly disturbed), this Chloe probably wouldn't bat an eyelash. So there went _that_ brilliant plan.

Oliver had given him access to the JL armoury, but Connor hadn't been too impressed with the weapons he'd seen. Then he had to remind himself that he was about two decades in the past and that he would have to make do.

He kept those thoughts to himself though – his father would probably shoot him if he called his new compound bow primitive.

Connor could see that Green Arrow's attention was still focused on the area around Stonely's building. He was able to turn and leave when he saw another dark figure land on the roof behind his father.

The figure was also holding a wicked looking knife.

* * *

_Thanks so much for reading!  
_


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Through the Sands of Time  
Author: Miranda Aurelia  
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver

Rating: PG-13  
Summary: A betrayal sends a battle-weary Connor Queen hurtling through time into the past. Soon, the JL gang discovers that potentially messing up the timeline is the least of his worries.

Spoilers for various Season 9 episodes (I tend to add bits of random scenes in just because I can).

A/N: What do fight scenes and love scenes have in common? According to the instructor of the only creative writing course I've ever taken, they both tend to feature floating body parts (especially when the author loses track of which limbs are where). What she didn't mention was that they're also great to read but a pain in the ass to write.

Thanks for much for all the kind comments, everyone! They really brighten my day. =)

**Chapter 6**

His father was in danger.

Connor's mind kicked into action and he practically flew over the rooftops as his hands reached for an arrow.

Meanwhile, Oliver was still a bit pre-occupied with locating the missing time-traveller. "Watchtower, can you get me any leads on him?"

"He must have removed the tracking device, because the location I'm getting is Queen Plaza."

Suddenly, his senses screamed at him and he turned around just as Connor's arrow grazed the unknown assassin's sword-arm.

However, that failed to deter the assassin, who promptly swung at Green Arrow with the sharp blade.

Oliver dodged to the side, only to see Connor flying through the air to tackle the attacker.

The two of them landed near the edge of the roof, with Connor trying to wrestle the blade away. Oliver just tightened his fingers on the arrow, unable to shoot since there was a good chance he might accidentally hit Connor.

The unknown attacker slammed his head against the ground and Connor swore he saw stars. Right at that moment, his fingers closed around his opponent's uncovered forearm.

Connor could sense the other man's shock as the energy transfer began, but another punch loosened his grip.

Oliver got his chance when the attacker got up from a now unmoving Connor on the ground, but to his amazement, the guy managed to catch the arrow with his bare hands.

_Not another one_, thought Oliver. _Please tell me this guy's not related to Clark._

Shaking his head, Connor staggered to his feet as the assassin charged towards his father.

"Arrow!" Back at the tower, Chloe was trying to remain calm, but it seemed to be a losing battle. What was happening?

Suddenly she heard more shouting and then there just silence.

* * *

Landing heavily on the floor, Oliver brought up an arm to shield his face as glass shards rained down around him.

_I am really getting sick of being throw through windows all the time_, he thought irritably as he tried to catch his breathe.

Even as the assassin leapt off the roof, Connor was rushing towards the broken skylight where Green Arrow had gone through.

Landing with a thump onto the ground, he hurried towards his father, the latter of whom was slowly struggling to his feet.

"Where did he go?" was the first thing Oliver asked.

"He got away," Connor said as his father leaned heavily on him. "Who was that?"

Oliver just shook his head. "I have no idea. C'mon, let's head back."

If Connor was curious about why Oliver happened to be in the area in the first place, he didn't voice it.

* * *

"Oliver, stop being so stubborn!" Connor could tell it wasn't the first time they'd had this argument. "You have a meeting tomorrow and you're flying out to the other side of the country in two days. You can't just walk in with that huge gash across your face! People'll ask questions!"

"It's just a tiny scratch," Oliver countered as Chloe dabbed at his wounds, "Ow!"

"Then you should have no problem with me healing it."

The two of them seemed to be engaged in a silent battle of wills.

Oliver finally relented. "Fine. But only that one."

"But-"

"I mean it, sidekick."

Chloe just pressed her hand against his cheek before he could change his mind. A warm feeling washed over him before the gash disappeared only to appear on Chloe's cheek. She winced.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, his hand slowly coming up to cover hers.

"It's okay."

His parents seemed to be having a moment, so Connor took that opportunity to slip quietly out the doors of his mother's work area. His wounds were less obvious and while Chloe offered to heal them for him, he had thanked her, but refused. After all, he was a quick healer.

What he didn't tell them was that he did manage to catch a few stray thoughts from the attacker. He didn't recognize the other two men, but he did recognize the interior – the prominent Queen Industries logo gave it away.

What it meant was that Connor needed a plan into company headquarters.

* * *

It had been a slow day for Chloe, what with Oliver away on a business trip for Queen Industries and the boys having left to pursue their own activities for the moment.

Heading out for a coffee run, she was waiting in line when a voice behind her spoke up.

"Almond mocha with extra whip, right?"

Startled, she whipped around to see Connor's smiling expression. Unlike when he first dropped into their lives, he was looking significantly less scruffy and much healthier, though he could still use a haircut. For some reason, Chloe had never noticed how tall he was until now – she had to tilt her head up just to meet his gaze.

"Good guess," She lowered her voice, "So is that something you know from your time or is mind-reading an ability you forgot to mention?"

He shrugged, "I'm just a fountain of information like that."

"And that extends to how I like my coffee?" Chloe sounded skeptical.

"That's just 'cause I started out as the JL coffee boy before I worked my way up the ranks. Someone had to do it."

"Right…" she stretched the word out. "So what brings you out here today?"

Two hours passed before Chloe realized it. Connor had excused himself to run some errands and they'd parted ways outside JL Towers.

After being the listener for so many years, Chloe found it refreshing to be on the other end. Connor had seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say although he was rather reticent about his life.

_"Did I know your parents?" Chloe asked suddenly, "I don't know why, but I just feel like I've know you from somewhere."_

_Connor looked uncomfortable. "Well…"_

_"Actually, forget I said that," she backtracked, "I know there's only so much you can tell us-" _

_"You knew my dad," Connor blurted out before he inwardly cursed himself. Why did he say that? _

_"Oh?"_

_"Yeah. People are always saying how much I resemble him, especially from far away."_

_"He must be really worried," Chloe said softly, "It's been more than a week since you've landed here." _

_Connor sighed, "He's… My father died when I was fourteen."_

_Chloe's eyes widened in shock, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."_

_"It's alright. It's been quite a few years ago. He was never quite the same after my mom died." Probably because she died trying to save me.  
_

_"Oh my," Chloe felt the urge to give the young man across from her a hug. Has anything ever gone right in your life?_

_She didn't even realize she'd spoken her thoughts out loud until Connor gave a dry chuckle. _

_"It's not that bad. My parents were really well-off, so it's not like I ever lacked for money. That and some friends of my parents, they took me in and treated me like one of their own…" Connor shook his head before giving her a rueful smile, "I guess that wasn't what you were expecting when you asked your question."_

_Looking to change the topic, Chloe stopped on the first thing that came to mind. "Oliver said that you were pretty handy with the crossbow. Coming from him, that's quite a compliment."_

_A flash of something - pain? - crossed his eyes, but then Chloe blinked and it was gone._

_"I had some training," he said vaguely. "Did you manage to figure out who that mysterious attacker was?"_

_And with that the conversation turned back into shop-talk. _

_

* * *

  
_

"Shadowhawk here. I've received news that Connor Queen may still be alive."

Head Councilman Akan scowled, "How is that possible?"

"The girl stated that she felt a disruption in the timeline. She thinks it's possible that Queen may have travelled back in time. Kent thinks he may have a way of going back to retrieve him," The spy paused, "What are your orders, sir?"

The councilman tapped his chin thoughtfully. "If Kent is successful, that could cause problems. Keep an eye on him for now, but if it looks like it's going to work, stop him."

"It might get messy," warned the spy, "Kent's not going to back down without a fight."

"Sacrifices must be made sometimes."

"Yes, sir." With that, Akan's image disappeared from the screen of the phone. He sighed.

Meanwhile, his ears picked up the distinct sound of Alana's shoes before she came into sight.

"Jay, there you are! Nathan's back," There was a renewed spark in her eye that had been missing the past few days.

"That was quick," was all Jay said.

Something in this tone must have been off, because Alana gave him a sharp look. "Are you alright?"

"Just sorting out a few things out in my head," he said lightly, "Don't worry about it."

His smile was ironic.

* * *

Feed the author! =P (sorry, couldn't resist).


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Approximately 700 words into this chapter, I hit writer's block. As well, I wasn't too satisfied with what I'd written so I ended up starting again from scratch. Sorry for the long time in between updates and thanks so much to everyone that has taken the time to read and/or review!

Also, for those are you that are interested, I've been writing an AU series of one-shots featuring Oliver and Chloe. It's posted on my LJ (link on my FFN author homepage).

**Chapter 7**

_In the present..._**  
**

Chloe watched silently as another arrow hit the center of the target.

It was a familiar scene, only the man standing in front of her was definitely not the blond archer she was used to. As she watched, Connor loaded up another arrow and drew his arm back.

"Connor, do you have a minute?"

There was final thwack! as the last arrow hit the target.

"What is it?" He'd sensed Chloe's presence when she'd entered the area, but he decided to wait for her to speak first.

"How would you feel about taking over as Green Arrow for the next week or so?"

She must have sensed his surprise because she explained, "Normally we have AC or Clark patrolling when Oliver's away. It makes his absences less conspicuous."

"Makes sense. I'll do it."

Chloe raised an eyebrow when she heard his quick acquiesce. "Just like that?"

Connor shrugged. What he didn't tell her that he already did his own patrolling during the night – usually keeping a watchful eye out for Green Arrow in case the latter needed any back-up.

He knew it was kind of weird, but the part of him that had lost his parents so long ago wanted to do everything that he could to ensure their safety, no matter what. Not to mention the fact that they still hadn't figured out who had hired that mysterious assassin that had attacked Green Arrow.

* * *

_In the future - Northern satellite cave, Gotham City:_

"I can do this!" Sarah insisted even she stumbled a bit getting to her feet, "Just let me try again."

"You're going to faint from exhaustion soon," countered Nathan, "Sarah, you need to rest."

"But-"

"Connor wouldn't want you to," Alana interrupted gently, her calm tone masking the disappointment she felt, "I don't think he would want to find out that he saved your life only for you to hurt yourself trying to rescue him. If he's really gone back in time, another day or two shouldn't make that much of a difference."

From his spot on the ground from Alana, Jay stirred, "It seems that we may have to think of a new plan, since this 'brute force' method isn't working."

"Damnit!" Nathan's fist hit the ground – a crack immediately appeared in the concrete.

"Nate…." Alana said warningly.

"Sorry."

Nathan had arrived back a few hours ago with the bad news – the legion ring was gone and Clark had no idea where it was.

_"What do you mean you don't know?" Nathan stared at his father, "How can you just lose something like that? This isn't a library book, for crying out loud!"_

_"The last time I saw it was many years ago and that was a very dark time in my life…" Clark paused, "Nathan, I know it seems tempting to use it, to change things, but sometimes just because we can, doesn't mean we should." His father seemed weary, "I know you want to save Connor, but it could also result in dire repercussions." _

_However, Connor's original mission was unchanged. "So where did you last see it?"_

_"The last time," Clark looked off into space, "I think…yes, I think Chloe had it."_

_Considering it had been more than a decade since his Aunt Chloe had passed away, that didn't help at all. _

_"Say… You sure we don't have a spare one lying around?"_

_His father did not look amused._

_"Yeah," mumbled Nathan, "Didn't think so."_

At that moment, the familiar roar of an engine echoes throughout the cave and the four of them jumped onto their feet in alarm.

"I thought you said nobody used this cave?" Jay asked Alana.

"That's what I thought." Alana's brow was furrowed as she headed towards the main area. Had her father managed to discover their plan already? She certainly wouldn't put it past him.

To her relief, it was not her father that had arrived.

"Dick!" she gave the man she considered her eldest brother a hug. "I wasn't expecting you to be in town so soon. What's up?"

"I could be asking the same of you," Dick gave her a curious look, "Why are you holed up over here? Is Bruce in one of his moods again or something?"

"No, no," Alana shook her head, "Just…hanging out."

She could see that Dick didn't quite believe her, but thankfully he didn't press the issue. "I left some of my gear here the last time I was in Gotham. I was just dropping by to pick them up," he tossed over his shoulder as he headed towards the costumes area as Alana trailed along behind him.

"Oh and that reminds me," Dick removed a small flash drive from his pocket and handed it to her, "Babs wanted me to give this to Bruce. Can you do me a favour and drop it off?"

"Sure," Alana turned it over in her hand, "What is it?"

"I think it's something to do with Queen Industries. I've been seeing that logo on her computer screen for the last three days."

At that point, snippets of a conversation drifted through her mind.

_Her mother's voice, "Embezzling….board of directors….think one of them did it?" followed by the rumble of her father's voice, "…had a part in Connor's death somehow….numbers don't match up….Barbara to look…."_

"I'll see that he gets it," Alana heard herself say as a million thoughts swirled through her mind.

* * *

_Present - Connor's apartment, Star City_

ACCESSS DENIED.

Connor swore as the message popped up on his computer screen again. Over the past few days, he'd hit a roadblock in his attempts to hack into Queen Industries servers. But then, he thought ruefully, he really shouldn't have been surprised.

Watchtower's computer systems cross his mind, but with Oliver gone on his business trip, Chloe was spending almost all her time at JL Towers, save for the unofficial coffee breaks in the afternoons where she and Connor now shared.

Even if his mother were away, inwardly, Connor knew that there was only so much Watchtower's computers could do.

"Might as well kill two birds with one stone," he thought to himself. He still remembered the memories he had gleaned from Oliver's attacker and just the day before, he'd gone for a stroll around Star City's downtown core. The view from the office in that memory was on the southern side of the building, he was sure of it.

Breaking into the office building at night was an idea he'd briefly considered and discarded. It wasn't impossible, but he would have to switch the security system offline and that would raise suspicions.

He sighed before powering off the computer.

Two hours, a haircut and a shave later, Connor grimaced as he looked at himself in the mirror. People had often told him how much he resembled his father – now he going to see how true that was.

_Present - Queen Industries Tower 1, Star City_

"So far so good," Connor thought to himself as he watched the flashing numbers above the door as the elevator went up. There had been a few polite "Mr. Queen" acknowledgements as he walked through the lobby and the security guards had nodded as he went through the entrance.

He really shouldn't have been surprised. About a year ago, he'd helped put away a criminal who'd been a master of disguise, using his skills to rob numerous banks and stores before Connor and his team had managed to crack the puzzle. From what he'd seen, it was all about the way you carried yourself. People usually saw what they were used to seeing.

The pass Chloe had given him worked and to his relief, the passwords he needed to gain access to the upper levels hadn't changed from his time. He frowned. That was a potential security risk. Somehow he would have to tell Oliver to change it.

Finally, he reached the floor where his father's office was located. Turning to the right, he immediately came face to face with two familiar, albeit much younger figures.

Timothy Weske. Noah Browne. Weske was a serious, dour looking fellow with a shrewd eye for business. His father had once joked that the man had probably been born with an account book in one hand.

In contrast, Noah was a naturally cheerful man who had been like a mentor of sorts to him after his father had died. In those first few months after he'd taken over as CEO at Queen Industries, Connor knew he would have been utterly lost without the man's help.

"Oliver, I thought you were still in New York."

Connor forced a laugh out, "We were clearly offering the better deal, so they were hard pressed to refuse it." Now he was just bluffing, "There were some contracts that I hadn't had time to look over before I left."

"Hmm," said Timothy non-committedly.

"We were just heading off for a quick bite." Noah smiled, "Care to join us?"

"Maybe next time," Connor said as the two of them entered the elevator. "I've already eaten."

"Later then."

He watched the doors close before he turned on one foot towards his original destination. It occurred to him that both of them had offices facing the side he'd seen in the attacker's memories. But then the idea of one of them being the attacker's employer was so far-fetched to be almost impossible.

_But then, Dominique had also seemed like that_, a small voice inside his mind reminded him, _That's why you weren't expecting it._

Feeling oddly unsettled by the encounter, Connor punched in the code for Oliver's office and made his way in. A sense of familiarity struck him as soon as he closed the door.

Not surprising, considering the many long days and late nights he had toiled away here when he wasn't away on JLA business.

Shaking his head as if to rid himself of the memories, Connor crossed over to the desk to begin his search.

* * *

_Late that night at JL Towers:_

Three attempted muggings and one belligerent drunk later, Connor wearily made his way to the costume vault to change out of his Green Arrow outfit.

Connor had just finished doing up the buttons on his shirt when he picked up the sound of someone walking in.

"Ollie!" he heard his mother call out, "I didn't think you'd be back so soon."

"It's not Oliver."

Chloe gaped as Connor turned around. "Connor?"

From a distance, Connor's resemblance to Oliver was uncanny, right down to the infamous chin dimple. It was only closer up that she noticed the many subtle differences - such as the cynical green gaze and the slightly more rounded curve of his face.

Connor's lips curved into an ironic smile, "Surprised?"

"You never said that you were a shape-shifter."

He just laughed, "No, I assure you, this is how I normally look."

"You look so much like Oliver," Chloe breathed as she stepped up to him, "Heck, you even have this," she tapped his chin.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Connor chuckled, "It's a Queen thing." The statement was out of his mouth before the implications of what he was revealing hit him.

It was too late though.

"Care to explain what you meant by that?" From his mother's expression, it didn't seem as though she'd be taking no for an answer.

_Oh shit._

_

* * *

_

_Thanks for reading!_


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